The Overlooked Role of Marketing, Publicity, and Sales, or What does your media list look like?

In the first deep dive into the Pen America Report on Race, Equity, and Book Publishing, we skip to the end, where Pen America takes a hard look at the role of marketing and booksellers in the overall lack of real diversity in the industry.

One of the first things Pen America Report notes is that there is actually very little market research on book buyers and readers of color. So when publishers and bookstores have trouble reaching this market, it translates into the perception that "they don't read" and aren't worth targeting. And yet, it is of interest to note -- especially to independent bookstores -- that at least one study suggests that people of color buy far less from Amazon, and are far more deliberate in their purchases.

But the report notes that diverse titles are not well served by publisher and bookseller marketing efforts because they are put through a standard "boilerplate" process that never reaches a diverse audience. In publishing, slipping sales or disappointing returns of an anticipated book by a white author is often seen as a problem in the way the book has been marketed, whereas for an author of color, it is regarded as a problem with the book itself.

The bookstore version of this scenario is similar. It is not unusual for a bookstore to say that a BIPOC book "doesn't sell" or that people don't attend events with BIPOC writers. Even when stores alter their practices by, say, giving diverse books longer time on the shelves before slating them for returns, or placing them in high-visibility, high-profile areas of the shop, sales lag because the store has not developed a diverse readership or customer base. There is a significant difference between selling BIPOC titles to white readers, and creating the kind of store and selection that attracts diverse readers, but it is the latter that grows the demand for diverse books:

"Marketing and selling to a non-white audience takes specific expertise and connections built over time—and that editors and marketers of color are expected to develop and utilize these channels alongside staying on top of more standard forms of publicity and outreach." --Rockelle Henderson, President of Rock Inked

Step one is to do your research. Bookstores have regular promotional strategies for getting the word out about new books or store events. But since those strategies are not attracting a diverse audience, they are insufficient to the purpose.

Within their own communities, rather than relying on traditional promotional avenues, stores should search out the places diverse readers go to find out about new books: It might not be the local newspaper or public radio station, so they should look at the alternative papers and magazines in the area, as well as other Black media like radio stations, podcasts, and YouTube channels. Booksellers should make a point of reading beyond traditional book media like the New York Times Book Review or NPR to see what books are getting new buzz. They should also be reading BIPOC publications and watching Black television programs.

Stores should also make a note of venues that host BIPOC events and how they publicize them, be familiar with active Black churches and social hot-spots, clubs, cafes, and bars. If there is a college or university in the area, bookstores get to know the Black Studies departments. And it goes without saying that if there is an HBCU (historically black college or university) institution close by, the store should be familiar with its programs and departments.

Read the full report here

The Anti-Racist Bookshelf: Inheritance: An Autobiography of Whiteness by Baynard Woods

"The logic of whiteness is that we are supposed to be protected by the law without being bound by the law, and the people of color are supposed to be bound by the law and not protected by the law." (—Baynard Woods, "Wilhoit's Law")

In planning the columns that appear in "The Anti-Racist Bookseller" SIBA does a lot of trolling through information on small business operations, human resource management initiatives, workplace culture discussions, and DEI strategies for creating ethical and equitable workplaces. Mostly, the focus is on the things businesses can do to better understand and therefore meet the needs of their under-served and under-represented employees and, by extension, communities.

That is step one. There is a step two.

Changing things for others is one thing. But unless it comes with a willingness to examine and change ourselves it is not enough. We have to understand—intimately—how being a part of the dominant group—being white, being straight, being male, being able-bodied—is not just "the way things are" but makes us part of an active force to keep things the way they are. We usually call it "privilege" but Baynard Woods calls it "inheritance." Or, sometimes, "infection."

In a recent interview on the Code Switch podcast about his new book, Inheritance: An Autobiography of Whiteness, Woods admitted, "You know, I find discussions of structural racism very useful. But I also found that they could let me off the hook because it's easy to say, oh, everything is racist." Woods, a Baltimore journalist originally from South Carolina and from a family with a Confederate history, felt pushed to put himself back on that hook. "...having to situate it within the details of my own life, within the memoiristic details of my life and that of the people that I love, to see how white supremacy intersected all through the—my family connections. I felt that was the only way to—for me to tell this story."

"To see how white supremacy intersects" throughout our lives is not easy to do if you are white because you have been raised to ignore it, not to see it. But re-evaluating our lives is just what we have to do. Woods' memoir is his attempt to follow how "whiteness" worked, and worked against, his life. He notes that there is no such thing as a white identity that is not tied to white supremacy. Full stop. A white person who values social justice and equity has to interrogate their own life for how much of their self-conception is built on being white and therefore built upon power and privilege. "Whiteness" notes Woods, "is not only a lie that is told to us, it's a lie that we tell to ourselves about the world. And it keeps us from seeing the world, but it actually shapes the way we live in the world."

Resources:

What does it mean to "inherit whiteness?" NPR Code Switch Podcast

Wilhoit's Law Explained Slate

Writing a Book About My Whiteness Forced Me to Confront My Own Lies LitHub

Shopkeeper's Privilege and Racial Bias

If you have ever seen a private security guard stop to question or detail a "suspicious" person, you have seen something known in legal circles as "shopkeeper's privilege." The doctrine of shopkeeper's privilege states that in this situation, a shopkeeper defendant who reasonably believes that the plaintiff has stolen or is attempting to steal something from the defendant shopkeeper may detain the plaintiff in a reasonable manner for a reasonable amount of time to investigate. (via)

Unsurprisingly, the decision of who to target and detail is often influenced by racial bias. According to a study commissioned by the Sephora Beauty Retailer (in response to reports of discrimination by Sephora's own staff), fully 40% of customers in US retail stores experience unfair treatment based on their race, ethnicity, or skin tone.

This includes everything from being passed off or ignored by store staff to being the object of suspicion and subject to false accusations. The report concludes that there is "an invisible tax" on BIPOC and Indigenous shoppers, who struggle to find the products they need and to get assistance from store staff. It also determined that there is a pattern of exclusion created in store policies which results in certain kinds of customers being categorized as "less desirable" and therefore unwanted.

And it identified five "Truths" that perpetuate and shore up this racial bias in retail stores:

1. Limited racial diversity across marketing, merchandise, and retail employees results in exclusionary treatment before U.S. BIPOC shoppers even enter a store and continues across their in-store journey

2.U.S. BIPOC shoppers feel in-store interactions are driven by their skin color and ethnicity, yet retail employees cite behavioral attributes, rather than appearance, as the basis for their interactions

3 U.S. BIPOC shoppers use coping mechanisms to minimize or avoid anticipated biased experiences when in-store. While many customer experience needs are universal, BIPOC shoppers have some needs that hold greater importance in helping them feel welcome

4 The majority of U.S. BIPOC shoppers do not voice concerns about negative shopping experiences directly to retailers, creating missed opportunities for feedback and improvement, and impacting future sales as shoppers take their business elsewhere

5 Meaningful and long-term action is most important to U.S. shoppers and retail employees who want to see the company’s words supported by consequential action

"Meaningful and long-term" is a difficult experience to foster when, as the report states, four out of five retail shoppers have trouble finding a sales associate that looks like them or is familiar with their needs, and two out of three cannot even find someone who speaks their native language.

Recently Sephora, along with 17 other retail groups signed the Mitigate Racial Bias in Retail Charter, a pledge and a commitment to take "concrete steps to ensure a more welcoming environment for all by reducing racially biased experiences and unfair treatment for shoppers."

This means dismantling many long-standing policies that unfairly target BIPOC shoppers, as well as committing to increasing diversity in marketing and hiring; providing better feedback mechanisms; tracking the company's progress towards its inclusivity goals; and providing ongoing and regular anti-racism training.

Read the Full Study

Hispanic? Latino? Latinx?

National Hispanic Heritage Month, also sometimes known as Latino Heritage Month, is September 15 - October 15. It honors the cultures and contributions of both Hispanic and Latino Americans as we celebrate heritage rooted in all Latin American countries.

The celebration originally began as a commemorative week introduced by California Congressman George E. Brown in June 1968 as a part of the Civil Rights Movement, and was officially commemorated for mid-September, chosen because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September18, respectively. Also, Día de la Raza, which is October 12, falls within this 30 day period.

The terms Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx are often used interchangeably -- especially by white people -- but they actually have different meanings, and which term you choose depends on how people self-identify.

“Hispanic” denotes people ethnically from Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America and Spain.

“Latino,” or the feminine “Latina,” is used to describe people with ancestry from Latin American countries. Unlike "Hispanic, it doesn't mean those countries are Spanish-speaking. It can include people from Brazil (Portuguese) or Haiti (French) or those from indigenous cultures in Latin America, which number in the millions.

"Latinx" is a more recent term meant to be gender neutral, and is often used by LGBTQ+ communities. It is also sometimes criticized because it does not follow Spanish grammar.
(via salud)

Which term used often depends on personal choice. The Federal Government uses "Hispanic" on Census forms, and officially recognizes "Hispanic Heritage Month". But many people who might fall under that category choose to represent themselves according to their family country of origin: Mexican-American, Cuban-American. Or simply according to their ancestral ethnicity -- Mexican, Cuban, Dominican.

Still, "Hispanic" is also the term most commonly used by the people in question it is meant to designate. It is not a neutral word, however. Even setting aside the fact it has basically been imposed by the US Government for the purposes of taking the Census, the origin of the word is an anglicized version of "Hispano", meaning a person whose cultural traditions originate from Spain.

That immediately erases the complex cultural reality of Latin America, including the rich indigenous traditions and pre-Columbian cultures that are now inextricably mixed with the cultures of colonizing forces. It also ignores the African heritage of those with enslaved ancestors, whose history is actually one of resistance to Spain and European colonization.

Mario T. Garcia, professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies at the University of California in Santa Barbara recently said in an interview with NPR that people in the US lack a good understanding of the stories and history of Hispanic people. "Too often the focus is on the musical contributions or dancing or other happy artforms." Whereas stories of oppression or injustice are ignored.

Luckily, booksellers are experts at collecting and recommending stories. Remember, when you are creating your displays and reading lists, just how many different kinds of stories there are Latinx, or Hispanic, heritage.

Further reading:

Yes, We're Calling It Hispanic Heritage Month and We Know It Makes Some of You Cringe
Hispanic, Latino, Latinx: What's the Difference
Who is Hispanic: The Pew Research Center
¿A quién consideran latino en Estados Unidos? (y por qué es más complicado de lo que quizá imaginas)

Being an Upstander

One of the education sessions at New Voices New Rooms this month which received extra attention and feedback from booksellers was Responding to Hate -- a special event where booksellers shared their strategies for dealing with aggression from their communities and sometimes even their customers. NVNR Attendees can now watch the session by logging on to NVNR's Attendee Hub.

Discussion ranged from the general, like creating, sharing, and implementing store mission statements, to the practical, such as always having at least two staff people in the store, to the situational, such as how to tell when a volatile situation can be deescalated, and when it has to be shut down for the safety of everyone involved. One of the resources posted during the session was the Center for Anti-Violence Education (CAE)'s Upstander: Responding to Microaggressions Workshop hosted by the ABA, especially the accompanying"Bystander Intervention" handout.

A bystander, as the word itself makes clear, is someone who stands by. An Upstander is someone who does not. An upstander choses to get involved:

• Takes action when they see an act of intolerance.
  
• Speaks or acts in support of an individual or cause, intervening on behalf of a person being attacked or bullied.
  
• Actively works to create an anti-oppressive world.

The term was originally coined as a way for students to confront bullying behavior in school. But the concept has also been applied to other kinds of injustices by encouraging people to speak up and intervene when they see a person being attacked. Being an upstander requires a shift in the way we are trained to think and act. As store owners and staff we were likely encouraged to appease aggressive customers and suppress uncomfortable situations.

But that might not be an option if an employee or another customer is being harassed or threatened. So how do you take action? When do you take action? What do you do?

The Bystander Intervention handout available from the ABA's Upstander session addresses the "What." It has a checklist of possible actions, of things to do to discourage bullying behavior, or to utilize when you intervene to stop an injustice.

The other valuable handout available, "Calling In Strategies," addresses the "How" and "When." This handout works as a kind of self-assessment both you and your staff can use to determine if you are the right person to step into an uncomfortable situation, and how to do so as safely as possible.

Here are some simple ways to be an upstander from The Bully Project, an initiative to reduce school bullying by encouraging students to step in when they see a student being attacked:

1. Help others who are being bullied. Be a friend, even if this person is not yet your friend. Go over to him. Let them know how you think they are feeling.

2. Stop untrue or harmful messages from spreading. If someone tells you a rumor that you know is untrue or sends you a message that is hurtful to someone else, stand up and let the person know this is wrong.

3. Make friends outside of your circle. Reach out to someone who is alone. Show support for a person who is upset by asking them what is wrong

4. Refuse to be a “bystander”. If you see friends laughing along with a bully or a bigot, call them on it.

Read more

Note: Some of the links to resources mentioned in this article require a log in to member-only areas of New Voices New Rooms and the American Booksellers Association. Booksellers who do not have accounts with those entities can reach out to SIBA for help.

Respect ethnic names. Learn to pronounce them correctly.

@Anpu, Anparasan Sivakumaran, a photographer based in London and a social media influencer, has created a short but engaging series of graphics on how and why you should take the trouble to learn to both pronounce and spell ethnic names that are unfamiliar to you. Ultimately, this is a matter of basic respect, and not hard to do. For example, under "Things you should never say" is "I'm never going to remember that." This is simply dismissive and offensive. Under "How to help" he suggests repeating a person's name to confirm you are saying it correctly, and points out that in business misspelled and incorrect names can cause time-consuming and expensive legal problems for everyone involved. Jotting down a pronunciation you are uncertain of will help you to remember it in the future.

Read How to Respect My Ethnic Name

Unconscious Bias is not unconscious

"Labeling all discrimination 'unconscious bias' only provides cover for those who are consciously biased to continue in unrepentant acts of prejudice" --Linda Scott, The Double X Economy

Unconscious Bias, also sometimes known as implicit bias, is "a bias or prejudice that is present but not consciously held or recognized" (Merriam Webster). More specifically it is a prejudice or stereotype that is so normalized in our culture and our lives that it is taken for granted, like when an auto mechanic assumes his female customer knows nothing about cars, (or, conversely, when that female customer assumes her mechanic identifies as male).

Unconscious biases have a negative effect on a business because they alienate customers, hurt employees, and stifle creativity and growth. They are often used as an excuse for racist or bigoted behavior. They are also not, precisely "unconscious" --they are at the foundation of our "gut feelings" and rationalized as conclusions learned from experience. This makes these biases not "unconscious" but merely unexamined and ignored.

An organization that seeks to be equitable and anti-racist regularly audits itself for bias. Here is a helpful list of some kinds of biases that we all operate under that may be causing hostile conditions in the workplace, courtesy of DiversityResources.com:

Affinity Bias: Our tendency to gravitate toward people similar to ourselves.
Example: If you’re working with an employee who went to the same college or grew up in the same town, you may be more likely to smile or offer encouraging words, compared with an employee with whom you don’t share similarities.

Attribution Bias: How we assess others and their achievements.
Example: When someone cuts a driver off, the individual who was cut off is more likely to attribute their actions to the other driver’s inherent personality traits (i.e. recklessness, rudeness, incompetence) rather than the situational circumstances (i.e. the driver was late to work).

Beauty Bias: When we notice other people’s appearances and associate it with their personality.
Example: CEOs are taller than those in other roles.

Confirmation Bias: We cherry-pick evidence that backs up our opinions, instead of objectively looking at all of the information.
Example: A candidate arrives 10 minutes late due to a circumstance outside of their control. Unaware of this, you automatically assume the candidate arrived because disorganization. As a result, when interviewing them you focus on information on his or her resume that backs up your preconceived notion.

Conformity Bias: We alter our own views to earn acceptance from a larger group.
Example: Conformity bias often occurs in recruitment. If most people feel one way about a candidate, but you feel differently, you may feel that you slowly start to align with the group’s opinions and views.

Confronting our unconscious bias requires diligence and commitment. We have to accept that they exist -- it our workplace and in ourselves. Developing a workplace culture that does this is the first step in creating an equitable environment.

Resource:
Unconscious Bias Training that Works

Responding to the Hate

Small businesses have increasingly become targets in the rise of racist and extremist right-wing violence. Bookstores have found their storytimes picketed, their book selections challenged, and sometimes even their own staff targeted.

Store owners need resources and support for dealing with volatile and hostile situations, which is why one of the most important sessions being offered at NVNR August next month is Responding to Hate: Booksellers are on the frontline of social justice. Hear how they protect staff, and adapted SOP to negate the hate.

The session will cover tested strategies for dealing with the hate, whether it is something in your store, or in your community. Register here, it is free for all SIBA member booksellers.

A good starting point is to look at the Southern Poverty Law Center's publication Ten Ways to Fight Hate: A Community Response Guide. It offers specific suggestions for how to respond when faced with hate, such as developing media strategies, or creating alternative events and programs to the hate-inspired marches and challenges. "Every act of hatred," they insist, "should be met with an act of love and unity." 

Supporting Your BIPOC Staff

It may seem self evident but it bears repeating: the responsibility for addressing workplace equity and inclusion falls first and foremost upon the employer. A hiring policy to increase the diversity of staff is an obvious visible step in transforming a workplace, but it must be accompanied by a commitment to change workplace culture. It is not uncommon for organizations to wait for complaints or issues raised by their BIPOC employees before attempting to address (or indeed even noticing) racism in the workplace -- placing the burden of change on the people already being harmed. The burden and responsibility is not on BIPOC employees. It is first and always on the employer.

The Coalition for Diversity & Inclusion in Scholarly Communications (C4DISC) has created a series of "Toolkits for Equity" designed to help organizations proactively address racism in the workplace as a long-term, on-going commitment to diversity and equity:

"Inclusive leaders provide BIPOC employees with the space for them to be true to who they are and cultivate an environment where their ideas and perspectives are respected and valued."

The toolkits contain resources and strategies for things like:

• Avoiding BIPOC Burnout and Overburdening.
  
• How to onboard BIPOC Employees.
  
• How to mitigate the impact of Code Switching.

See the full toolkit here:
Supporting BIPOC Staff from Toolkits for Equity in Scholarly Publishing Project Volunteers

How do you unjudge someone?

Imagine sitting down for an open conversation with someone whom you just don't understand or perhaps don't agree with.

The Human Library is a remarkable, and frankly beautiful organization dedicated to bettering our understanding of diversity in order to help create more inclusive and cohesive communities across cultural, religious, social and ethnic differences.

It's "books" are human beings willing and eager to talk to others about their experience. Every "human book" from this library represents a group that faces prejudice or stigmas because of their lifestyle, ethnicity, beliefs, or disability.

At a Human Library event, people can "borrow" these people who are open books for a one on one conversation where it is safe to ask hard questions, as long as those questions are asked with respect.

The idea is to challenge our inherent stereotypes by putting a human face on them and listening to their real, lived experiences, including things like homelessness, drug addiction, being an alcoholic. But also topics like being transgender, or embracing body modification, or being Muslim or atheist.

The Human Library was founded 20 years ago by Ronni Abergel, a Danish human rights activist interested in creative nonviolent activism. He says he based his idea on his own town library -- "the one truly inclusive institution" in his town.

From its inception the idea has grown to hold events in more than 8o countries, and has more the 1000 human books in circulation in more than 50 languages. With the onset of the pandemic, the Human Library has also adapted to using virtual session.